Video games, particularly computer based games and game stations, have become extremely popular. The combination of visual and audio stimulation has succeeded in capturing a significant portion of people's leisure time. Various games have been developed, with associated hardware, that further involve the sense of touch, by allowing for varying input instruments. In one example, a musical instrument such as a mock guitar, is utilized as a game input, thus involving the sense of touch.
Games have been developed providing for a virtual reality world, again based on stimulating various user senses. However, to date, the remaining senses, namely smell and taste have not been stimulated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,041 issued Dec. 2, 2003 to Kaminkow et al, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, provides for a method and apparatus for emulating a storm as part of a gaming device, preferably as a topper unit including a blower to create an air stream, an illumination source to emulate lightning, and a sound card arranged to transmit thunder. Thus, the sense of touch is stimulated, in addition to the sense of hearing and seeing.
U.S. Patent Application Publication S/N 2008/0043204 published Feb. 21, 2008 to Guo, is addressed to a digital scent movie projector with sound channels. Scent making devices release a scent into a cinema, thereby providing for film arts to provide a sense of sight, hearing and smell as part of movie.
A movie proceeds along a predetermined script, which does not allow for user interaction. Thus, the scent to be provided by Guo, are predetermined, and are not subject to change by a user action. Additionally, scent provided by Guo is arranged for releasing scent into a large space, which is not appropriate for an individual playing a computer game.
An additional problem with many prior art solutions is residual scent; particularly the scent continues to linger for a relatively long period after the desired emission. Residual scent is particularly problematic in the case of individual computer garners, which often play in undisturbed spaces, where scents easily linger. In particular, any physical element which has been contacted by a concentration of scent molecules continues to exude the scent. The residual scent further contaminates additional scents, which may need to be rapidly emitted in line with progress of the game.
World Intellectual Property Organization publication WO 02/32470 A1 published 25 Apr. 2002 to SENEIT, Inc. is addressed to an apparatus for emitting an odor. Unfortunately, the apparatus as described suffers greatly from the aforementioned residual scent, as scent molecules are deposited along the enclosed spaces of scented air travel.
Various nebulizer schemes are known to the prior art, including placing a vibrating fine mesh in contact with a liquid to be nebulized. The mesh typically is arranged to be sufficiently fine so as to block any flow of the liquid and is vibrated, typically at ultrasonic frequencies, thereby atomizing the liquid. Unfortunately, such a scheme suffers from certain drawbacks, such as spontaneous scent leakage since there is no means to prevent spontaneous release of volatile vapors via the mesh opening. Furthermore any molecules adhering to the mesh walls may be released without further vibration, further leading to residual scents. Additionally, there is a tendency for the fine mesh to become blocked by the aromatic molecules adhering to the mesh openings. Furthermore, the mesh aperture which is fixed in size is designed for a particular molecule size and viscosity, and a particular fixed mesh based nebulizer can not be used for a plurality of liquids having a range of viscosity without changing the fixed mesh.
U.S. Patent Application Publication S/N 2007/0189919 published Aug. 17, 2007 to Prince et al, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, is addressed to a method for cleaning a medicament from a portion of a nebulizer. In particular, the above mentioned application is addressed to the problem of prior art mesh based nebulizers becoming occluded.
Thus, there is a need for an electronically controlled nebulizer addressing the issue of residual scent and arranged to avoid occlusion.